Recharge area and water quality of the valley-fill aquifer, Castle Valley, Grand County, Utah (RI-229)

By: N. P. Snyder

Castle Valley is one of several northwest-trending salt anticline valleys on the Colorado Plateau in southeastern Utah. The unconsolidated valley fill is the principal aquifer in the valley and consists of coarse alluvial-fan deposits and stream alluvium, with minor clay. Some recharge to the valley-fill aquifer comes from underflow from bedrock aquifers, but most is from La Sal Mountains runoff via Castle Creek and Placer Creek. Because of the absence of protective, low-permeability confining layers, the valley-fill aquifer is unconfined, and most of the valley is classified as primary recharge area. The only discharge area is along lower Castle Creek.

Increased residential development using individual wastewater-disposal systems has raised concerns for the long-term quality of ground water in the valley-fill aquifer. In this study, ground-water recharge and discharge areas, potentiometric surface elevation, and specific conductance were mapped to serve as tools for protecting ground-water quality and managing potential contaminant sources in Castle Valley.

Other Information:
Published: 1996
Pages: 22 p.
Location: Grand County
Media Type: Paper Publication